


The Fool's Journey

by twinkwatson



Category: Rooster Teeth/Achievement Hunter RPF
Genre: Alternate Universe - Achievement Hunter Kings, Fluff, King!Geoff, M/M, Mage!Ryan, Prince!Gavin, Tarot Cards, advisor!jack, also knight!lindsay, court mage!matt, knight!michael and jeremy, princess!meg, ray is just ryans best friend, ray is the #1 freewood supporter, slow burn but tbh im just dragging it out, the gangs all here!
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-10-06
Updated: 2018-12-15
Packaged: 2019-07-26 00:49:08
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,598
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16209203
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/twinkwatson/pseuds/twinkwatson
Summary: Gavin is sick of the pressure that comes with being the heir to the throne. He just needs a few hours to clear his head. On his walk he meets a mysterious looking mage who can't stop playing with a silly deck of cards.freewood kings!au where ryan is a mage who uses tarot cards and gavin is a naive prince22 chapters based off the story of the fool's journey about the 22 major arcana tarot cards.





	1. The Fool (0)

Sneaking out wasn't anything new to Gavin. He had done it plenty of times. Sometimes he just needed to be by himself. The pressure of being the perfect heir to the throne was too much, he just needed to clear his head. Escape for a few hours. Of course once he returned to the kingdom, his father and advisor would kick his ass. It wasn't anything new to Gavin.

He was supposed to be studying right now. His big test was coming up soon. _Screw it_ , he thought. He'd just copy Trevor or something. Oh why did he take a History of Magic class? He had no interest in magic, why is it required to have a credit in the Arcane studies to pass? _Curse the education system_ , he thought.

He slammed his textbook shut and grabbed his satchel and dagger (Michael had told him it's better to be prepared for anything)  
He wrapped up a small loaf of bread Lindsay had baked for him and placed it in his satchel incase he got hungry.

Gavin slung the satchel over his shoulders and walked over to his window. He looked up at the cloudy sky, wondering what time it was. It was still light outside, so it wasn't that late. Early afternoon probably. He stepped onto the window sill and leaped onto the branch of an old oak tree outside his window.  
Oaks were his favourite type of tree, very strong and they lived for hundreds of years! What's not to love? Plus they can survive even the worst of storms. Alfredo told him it was weird to have a favourite type of tree, Gavin only replied by asking if he had ever survived a lightning strike. 

Maybe he'd get back before dinner and no one would notice he was gone, he hoped.

"Gavin? What are you doing up there?" a voice from below said.

_Yeah, maybe no one would notice..._

The young prince looked down to see the the court mage, Matt. He was wearing his signature red hooded cloak.

"Oh, hi Matt. What are you doing down there?" Gavin asked back at him, trying to avoid the question.

"I was just out picking some herbs, Lady Meg has come down with a sickness - Hey wait! Answer my question first!"

"Oh you know... Just enjoying the lovely warm weather..." Gavin lied.

"Gavin it's freezing cold." Matt replied.

Gavin sighed, swung his legs over the branch and dropped down from the tree.  
"I was just gonna uh, go on a lil walk." He finally answered, pointing at the secret passageway in the castle walls.

"I don't know if I regret telling you about that." Matt sighed and shook his head.

"Uh so, you said Meg was sick. Is she gonna be okay?" Gavin asked quietly.

Matt smirked. "Awww, are you worried about your girlfriend? Poor Gavvy.." 

Gavin frowned. "Hey! We're not dating! I'm just wondering. Y'know, in a friendly, platonic kinda way."

"Yes, she's fine. I just need to mix up some medicine and she'll be fine tomorrow." Matt reassured him.

"Yuck. I hate potions." Alchemy was another one of Gavin's many dropped classes. He'd much rather just do archery.

"Just try and refrain from kissing her before she's better, okay? I don't need you getting sick too." Matt joked and turned away. "See you tomorrow!'"

"Ugh! I don't want to kiss her!" Gavin said back. Matt only laughed.

"Bye! Have fun doing wizard-y stuff!" Gavin called out as he slipped through the stone passageway.

"I'm not a wizard!" Matt groaned. "I'm a mage!" 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The young prince set foot onto a stone road, taking in the quiet and calmness of walking alone. He finally had time to think.

Gavin thought back to the conversation he just had with Matt. He wished that people didn't make fun of him for Meg. He didn't even like her. She is nice, pretty and smart.... But Gavin wasn't interested in her.  
His father, King Geoff, and advisor Jack, have arranged for Gavin to get married to another princess from a neighbouring kingdom. The Turney Kingdom. That princess was named Meg. When she first came to the Ramsey Kingdom to meet Gavin and his father, she quickly became friends with Gavin, Michael and Lindsay.  
She visits regularly now, and is staying for a few months until the school year is over. So far they've had lots of fun together, but Gavin can only see her as a friend, and vice versa.

 _People should be allowed to marry whoever they want_ , he thought to himself. One of the most important things to Gavin is freedom. Maybe that's why people call him Gavin the Free. A nickname he got from Michael and Jeremy. 

Usually when Gavin was out, he would go to the treehouse Jack built for him and Michael when they were younger. It was a nice place to think.  
But this time his travels took him somewhere. He was just heading wherever his feet took him. He happened to find himself walking down a narrow dirt road, one he had never seen before, despite how often he goes out. It was lined with tall towering trees on either side, and the path got narrower as he walked down. Curiosity got the best of him, so he started picking up pace, eager to discover what was at the end of the mysterious path.

As he reached the end of the path, he came face to face with a white, mossy stone wall, overgrown with lush green plants. It had a silver plaque on the left side of the wall that had an inscription on it. It read, **'I Only Open For The Worthy'.**

 _Open?_ Gavin questioned, _But it's a brick wall?_  
He pressed his hand against the cold stone and shivered, but it wasn't because of the coldness. He felt a kind of... magical energy? travel through his body? He wasn't sure, felt weird though. Gavin stepped back from the wall, and watched as some of the bricks faded away with a purple glow. Instead of a wall, Gavin was left stating at an archway. An entrance. To a secret hideaway. He peered into the opening and saw a glimpse of a courtyard.

Well, he came this far. Can't pussy out now.


	2. The Magician (1)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> gavin meets ryan

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> for reference  
> gavin is 20  
>  ryan is 23

Gavin took a deep breath, mentally preparing himself for whatever was on the other side of this archway.  
 _This is either gonna be really shit or totally wicked.. ___

__The curious prince stepped through, and just blinked, adjusting himself to his new surroundings. It was a stunning garden, with topiary neatly trimmed into various shapes. Circles, triangles, squares, pentagons, hexagons, septagons, octagons— the list could go on. There were statues and ruins of a shrine, built with the same white stone on the entrance. The ruins were covering the perimeter of a small pond, that was filled with sparkling, clear blue water._ _

__Gavin stared in awe of the place, it was nothing like he had ever seen before. But there was one thing in particular that especially caught his eye. Sitting cross-legged on a smooth grey stone, along the bank of the pond, was a man. He was wearing a white button-up dress shirt with the sleeves rolled up, black trousers, and a light blue-y/grey hooded cloak. Although, the hood was down, so Gavin could see his swept back, sandy brown hair. From what Gavin could see, the strange man was playing with some sort of magical deck of cards._ _

__Gavin realised he was probably invading on this guys privacy, just watching him from afar. He also wondered if it was really invading, because if the archway would _'only open for the worthy' _, then he must be allowed in here right?  
Gavin decided to approach the man, because hey, maybe he could make a new friend. Or get murdered in raw daylight by a stranger.___ _

____Gavin stood behind the man, looking over his shoulder to see what he was doing. He was shuffling the cards over and over again, mumbling something to himself. He layed them down in front of him and selected one. He flipped it over and read the card's name.  
"Ace of Cups...?" He mumbled quiet enough so that only himself, and well, someone standing over his shoulder could hear._ _ _ _

____The card seemed to have a depiction of a hand holding out a golden cup, which was overflowing with water. Gavin watched the man scribble some words in a leather-bound journal.  
"When this card appears, look for new opportunities for friendship, spiritual growth or... love?" The man seemed confused and quickly wrote some more things down._ _ _ _

____Gavin was curious as to what he was doing. This man seemed harmless, probably just some silly wizard or something. Gavin was less scared now, just curious. Curious was one way to describe Gavin._ _ _ _

____"Soooo... Whatcha doin'?" Gavin asked the mysterious man.  
Real smooth Gav..._ _ _ _

____The man jumped and whipped his head around to meet eyes with the prince. He nearly fell off the rock, he was so startled._ _ _ _

____"Uhm—" The man choked out and cleared his throat.  
"I— How did you... Who ar— how long have you been standing there?" After tripping over his own words, he finally said something coherent._ _ _ _

____"Sorry, I didn't mean to scare you. I was just wondering what you were doing." Gavin scratched the back of his head nervously, not even realising he didn't answer the question at all._ _ _ _

____"But then how did you get in here?" The man asked._ _ _ _

____"I touched the wall and then an archway appeared, I don't really know. It just said 'I open for the worthy or something'.' Gavin explained to him, doing air quotes on the last sentence._ _ _ _

____The man looked over at the arch and back at the boy in front of him. "Huh.." He nodded._ _ _ _

____"I'm Gavin. Gavin the Free." He introduced himself and stuck out his hand. He purposely didn't mention his last name (Ramsey) or mention his princehood, he hoped that maybe this way he could have no special treatment. He just wanted to be Gavin._ _ _ _

____The man slowly reached out to shake his hand.  
"I'm Ryan."  
"Ryan....." Gavin expected maybe a last name or something.  
"Just Ryan." _ _ _ _

____"Well!" Gavin grinned "It's nice to meet you."  
"You too." Ryan smiled back._ _ _ _

____"So now that we're introduced, care to show me what you're doing?" Gavin hoped "Those cards are intriguing me."_ _ _ _

____"Really?!" Ryan seemed genuinely surprised. No one had ever taken an interest to anything he'd ever done before._ _ _ _

____Gavin nodded, peering over to see a lot of cards stacked together. Maybe 100?_ _ _ _

____"Uh— of course um, you can sit down, if you want." Ryan moved his journal and cards over to make room for Gavin to sit. Gavin sat cross-legged facing Ryan, with his hands in his lap._ _ _ _

____"So what are these cards?" Gavin jumped straight in with the questions.  
"They're called Tarot Cards." Ryan answered.  
"And they're for?" Gavin was giving him his full attention_ _ _ _

____Ryan picked up the card from earlier. The Ace of Cups. "They are for...." Ryan looked up at Gavin and down at the card a few times.  "Answering questions, or for predicting the future. Sounds fake, I know, but the cards really are true. At least they always have been for me."  
When this card appears, look for new opportunities for friendship, spiritual growth or love. Friendship. Or love. This repeated in Ryan's head a few times before Gavin asked another question. _ _ _ _

____"Wicked... How do you use them?" Gavin excitedly asked._ _ _ _

____"Well, you think really hard about a question and pick a card. Every card means something different, and it will give you an answer, depending on how you interpret it. For an example, say your question is 'How will moving house impact my life?', and you draw a card; The Six of Swords."  
Ryan held up a card with a picture of a woman on a boat, travelling over the ocean. The boat had six swords standing up in the boat. _ _ _ _

____"This card might mean," Ryan went on "That you are making a smooth transition away from negative behaviour and people. It might be a literal vacation or a journey through the mind. In the end, the transition will leave you feeling relieved."_ _ _ _

____Gavin could listen to Ryan's soft voice all day. He loved the way he explained all of this. "But how can you tell what it means?" Gavin asked yet another question, wanting Ryan to talk more._ _ _ _

____"Ah! It's very simple. There are four suits of cards; wands, cups, pentacles and swords. They each represent an element. Wands are fire, cups are water, pentacles are earth, and swords are air. Fire represents passion and feeling, water is for emotions and feeling, earth is for stability and rationality. Air is for thinking, mind and your beliefs."_ _ _ _

____Gavin nodded along, trying to keep up._ _ _ _

____"This card has six swords in it, so this card is a symbol of thinking and mind. Another important symbol is the number. Six swords. Six is a number of harmony and peace. So from those two symbols, we can find out this card may mean coming to peace with your mind."_ _ _ _

____"Is that all?" Gavin tried to remember all this information._ _ _ _

____"No, there is still alot more you can read on this card." Ryan passed the card to Gavin.  
"What else do you see in the picture?" Ryan asks._ _ _ _

____Gavin carefully examine the card.  
"Uh, there's a guy standing on a boat and he's rowing the boat with a staff." Gavin told him._ _ _ _

____"Right, and what is a boat used for?"  
"Umm, I don't know, sailing over water?" _ _ _ _

____"Yeah! So the boat signifies travelling or a journey, and the water he's sailing over represents emotions." Ryan explained, keeping eye contact with Gavin, "So, putting all the symbols together, the swords, the number, the boat and water, this card could mean a journey to come at peace with your mind, or to calm your emotions."_ _ _ _

____"That's so cool! How did you learn all this?" Gavin exclaimed.  
"Oh, I taught myself, I guess." Ryan smiled.  
"So going back to the example question, 'How will moving house impact my life?' and the card, Six of Swords, you could interpret it as; moving house will be good for you, your mind will be in a better place, and you need a fresh start._ _ _ _

____Ryan realised he had been keeping eye contact with Gavin this whole time, and quickly looked away. "Sorry, I uh- talk alot.." He stuttered and shuffled the deck of cards nervously.  
"Nah, it's fine! It's really interesting." Gavin said.  
"Really?" Ryan didn't believe him.  
"Yeah really, it's so cool. I like hearing you talk too."  
"Oh." Ryan blushed._ _ _ _

____Gavin was unsure if it was an awkward silence or not, Gavin didn't feel that awkward, but he assumed Ryan was. Maybe he shouldn't of said that last bit._ _ _ _

____As Ryan was shuffling the cards, Gavin took the time to look at his face. Not in a creepy way, he just hadn't gotten a good look at what he really looked like. He would be lying if he didn't think Ryan was attractive._ _ _ _

____Gavin looked around the courtyard once again. It really was an odd place. He noticed that there was another archway opposite to the one he came through. He guessed that was the one Ryan came through._ _ _ _

____"So what is this place anyways?" He asks Ryan._ _ _ _

____"Uh- It's just a place my friend foind, and I just come here sometimes to relax."  
Ryan was still fiddling with the cards._ _ _ _

____"Did your friend plant all those flowers? They look too pretty to be naturally grown."_ _ _ _

____"Yeah, he did. He's a gardener actually, he kinda fixed this place up. Hard to imagine, but it wasn't this pretty before." Ryan chuckled._ _ _ _

____Gavin nodded, and silence filled the air once again. Although this time it was a much more comfortable silence._ _ _ _

____"H-hey, do you wanna try maybe asking the cards a question?" Ryan looked down and picked at the cards._ _ _ _

____"Sure! How do I pick one though?" Gavin was full of questions today._ _ _ _

____"Think of a question first." Ryan said. "Uh- you don't need to tell me what it is if the question is personal though..." He quickly added on._ _ _ _

____Gavin sure did have alot of questions. Should he ask about his father? About how he is expected to marry Meg although they both _really don't want to. _Is he going to fail his last year of school? Should he run off and live his life as a highwayman? He admitted though, the last question was a bit more farfetched. Jeremy had suggested it, and Michael had only laughed and said Gavin wouldn't last 5 minutes out in the  
 _'real world' _._____ _ _ _

________Although he had only known Ryan for a mere 30 minutes, he had already felt pretty comfortable here. He had thought about running away before, but he decided he couldn't do that to his father, to his friends, and he couldn't do that to himself._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________He looked up at the sky. It was getting pretty dark, he didn't want anyone to worry. He hopes Matt will cover for him, although he knows if he's out for too long, Matt will definitely tell Geoff where he's been. Only _after _Geoff realises Gavin's not in his room after calling him for dinner five times.___ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

__________Ryan was a pretty patient guy. He seemed fine waiting for Gavin. Maybe he should hurry it up though._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

__________"Okay, I've got it." He finally decides on a question._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

___________'Where is my life headed in the near future?' ____ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

____________It wasn't really a good question, and it was honestly kind of vague. But he really does not know what's going to happen after he graduates, (if he passes anyway) or after he gets married. He's scared._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

____________Ryan spread out the cards face-down in front of Gavin. "You put the cards out like this, and pick one that you feel drawn to." He explained calmly._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

____________Gavin realised he probably should have thought about which card he picked up instead of choosing the one right in front of him, but that's just how Gavin was._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

____________He read out the card.  
"Seven of Pentacles." He looked at Ryan for directions._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

____________"Okay, now look at the card. Study it. Tell me what you see."_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

____________"Well, there's this farmer-lookin guy. And he's looking at a bush with a bunch of pentacles on it, and some fell off the bush and are on the ground. He looks kinda sad to be honest." Gavin thought aloud._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

____________"What do you think it means"? Ryan asks._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

____________"Well maybe he's worked hard to grow those thingys on the bush, but he's still upset with how they turned out? Is that right?" Gavin looked at Ryan for assurance._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

____________"Well, _you're _supposed to interpret it. It matters what it means to you." Ryan explained. "But if you want the textbook interpretation, it's about pausing, and assessing your goals, your wants and needs, it's a about slowing down before making any big decisions."___ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

______________Gavin thought about it for a second. What were his goals? What were his wants? He knew what he didn't want. He didn't want to marry Meg. He didn't want all this pressure on him. He didn't want special treatment. He didn't want... to be a prince. He wanted to be free. He just wanted to be Gavin._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

______________"Thanks for telling me about these cards Ryan.  
I think I better get going, it's getting pretty late, you how parents are, curfews or something." Gavin chuckled._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

______________ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

______________Gavin's attempt at a joke didn't seem to make Ryan laugh. Gavin realised Ryan was probably way older than him, and didn't live with his parents. Did he live alone? Ryan seemed lonely. He kind of felt bad about leaving Ryan, but he had that gardener friend he mentioned. He's not totally alone._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

______________"If I leave, I'm not locked out forever right?" Gavin laughed while standing up and stretching._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

______________"Not unless the door thinks you aren't worthy anymore." Ryan deadpanned._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

______________Gavin's face fell. "T-hat happens?"  
Gavin hopes not. What if he never gets to see Ryan again?_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

______________"N-no! I was just kidding, the door doesn't do that. O-or maybe it does, I don't really know, it's supposed to only let me and Ray- uh my friend Ray in. Sorry. I was rambling. Sorry." Ryan cringed at himself. He really needs to learn when to shut up._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

______________"Well let's hope it doesn't! Because I'd love to come back and talk more. Is Ray your gardener friend? Maybe I can meet him too!" Gavin suggests._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

______________"You're serious? You want to hang out more?" Ryan doesn't believe it._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

______________"You're very mysterious Ryan. Of course I want to talk more." Gavin stretched once again, he had been sitting down for quite a while._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

______________"You're the strangest friend I've ever had." Gavin smiles._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

______________Ryan blushes. Friend? He can't believe it._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

______________"Well, I'll see you soon Ryan. Oh! Have this. It's going to go mouldy if I don't eat it today." Gavin searched through his satchel and pulled out a small loaf of bread. He gave it Ryan._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

______________"You're giving me mouldy bread? Thanks Gavin, I appreciate it." Ryan joked._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

______________"It's not mouldy yet!" Gavin protested._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

______________Ryan unwrapped it and started eating it.  
"Hey! It's Rye-bread- like you Ryan! Rye-an." Gavin laughed at his own joke while Ryan just glared at him._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

______________"Have a good night Gavin." Rysn said inbetween mouthfuls.  
"You too Ryan!" _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

______________And with that, Gavin turned and quickly jogged home, climbing through the window and making it home just before his father called him for dinner._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

**Author's Note:**

> me introducing literally every character in the first chapter


End file.
